This month will be hot! The fishing can be as well but some days it will just be plain tough; the “dog-days” of summer can test the best bass anglers. To beat the heat and get an advantage on the fish, I suggest you give night fishing a try.
Bass feed at night as much, or perhaps more, than during daylight hours this time of year. I believe that feeding habits at night, however, are a bit different than in the light of day. During the day, light penetrates the water and creates pockets and edges of shadows around wood and grass cover. Bass use these shadows to their advantage to ambush prey. At night, these shadows are gone. Light sources now come from the moon and artificial lights around docks and such, and the shadows are almost non-existent. This results in bass being more likely to roam away from their daytime haunts to more open areas, but usually not too far from where they hunker during the day.
I also believe that bass spend much more time close to, or looking towards, the surface. The little light that’s available (if any at all) works best to their advantage when looking up, but his doesn’t mean to throw only top-water plugs. While many surface lures like buzz-baits, chuggers and walking baits will produce, I’ve had better luck casting a simple Texas-rigged worm. Rig yours with a 1/16- to 1/8- oz. weight. The slow fall of this bait means it stays in the strike-zone longer. Also, weightless baits like a Zoom Super Fluke, Gambler Ace or Senko will get great results.
No need to use wimpy gear at night. Use 50 lb. braid or heavier because line size usually doesn’t matter unless it inhibits the action of the lure. I also often use 15- 20 lb. monofilament because its floating characteristics work well with slow falling lures.
Good fishing and God bless.
CAPT. RANDY “C-NOTE” CNOTA
C-note Charters
Panama City, FL
cnotecharters.com
(229) 834-7880